Washington, DC — After the shameful lack of U.S. military presence at recent Autotestcons, reportedly part of draconian economy measures, DoD is now reversing its position, and urging appropriate military personnel to attend the upcoming Autotest in St. Louis. In the 2012 Autotestcon at Anaheim's Disneyland Hotel, the few military uniforms visible were from governments outside the U.S.A.

The HON Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition Technology & Logistics, issued a guidance memorandum to all DoD departments and agencies on February 20, 2014 urging DoD commands "to give appropriate consideration to the importance of attendance at technical symposia and conferences that enhance communication between DoD acquisition professionals and their industry counterparts."

This memorandum was issued to attempt to restore some of the critical interchange that military and government officials conduct with their industry counterparts during attendance at select conferences and symposia such as IEEE AUTOTEST, scheduled for Sept. 15-18 at the America Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri.

In the memorandum, Kendall recognizes that "the Department (of Defense) is the largest single employer of scientists and engineers in the United States. Maintaining professional currency is an important part of this investment in human capital." Kendall further states, "Science and technology (S&T) conferences and symposia, at which technical data and information is exchanged, are potentially beneficial both for maintaining technical competence and for the professional development of DoD scientists and engineers."

IEEE AUTOTEST clearly falls within this definition of the types of conferences and symposia that is now being urged upon DoD employees, where there is a technical relationship with data interchange that has suffered over the past two years.